The
Economy, Social Programs, and Education
Prepared by: Jeff Leverich, Research Coordinator
WEAC Collective Bargaining/Research/Information
Technology Division
Overview
Economic Trends
Federal Budget Proposals
Evidence that Social Programs
Work
Evidence that Public Schools
Work
Public Opinion
Teacher Pay
In an important article, Susan Meyer, professor
of public policy at University of Chicago, and Christopher Jenks, professor
of sociology at Northwestern University, argue that there is ample evidence
that a majority of social programs enacted by the federal government since
the 1950's have worked - they have acted to ameliorate the conditions
which the programs were designed to address. This is addressed in the
Evidence that social programs work section.
Next, in the section on Economic Trends,
many statistics, particularly as they relate to income distribution and
jobs, are included. Massive layoffs of corporate workers, declining wages
for average workers and the poor, and increasing incomes for the wealthy,
are the dominant trends documented from a variety of sources. As educators,
the numbers give us evidence to refute the bogus and facile arguments
that national increases in poverty and economic insecurity are evidence
of failed social programs and failed systems of public education. To the
contrary, increases in poverty and economic insecurity are due to changing
economic structures which are holding wages down, engaging in massive
layoffs from the corporate sector, and all the while increasing taxes
on low and middle income earners.
In fact, there is much evidence that public schools
are working. The real untold story is that, despite increasing numbers
of graduates from high school, and the corresponding increase in students
taking college entrance exams from 1950 to 1990, national test scores
declined little and are recently increasing. Further, research shows that
a student's socioeconomic status (primarily a function of income) is the
key predictor of outcome on standardized exams. The fact that test scores
have been stable and are currently increasing is extraordinary when we
factor in the increasing rates of childhood poverty that public schools
are contending with today. Twenty-two percent of children live in poverty
today. Talking points on public school success are contained in the section,
Evidence of School Success.
The Budget Proposals section highlights
the one-sided nature of cuts being proposed to balance the budget. The
military budget and corporate subsidies are being maintained and increased,
and taxes for corporations and the wealthy are being reduced, while every
social program in existence is being decimated with cuts. This is strong
evidence that the real intent of current budget efforts is more ideological
- an attack on social programs - than it is an attempt to bring governmental
spending per se under control.
Further, the budget proposals represent unprecedented
efforts to increase the amount of wealth being transferred from average
families and the poor to corporations and the wealthy - a trend which
has been increasing over the last fifteen years.
A brief section on Public Opinion
about education in Wisconsin is included. Despite years of negative attacks
on public schooling, public opinion still strongly supports teachers,
and local schools. It is important to recognize that, amidst the storm,
there is still strong support for public education.
Finally, some data addressing Teacher Pay
is provided. Recently, there have been many attacks on the amount of pay
teachers receive. In point of fact, analysis shows teachers to be under-compensated
compared to their private sector counterparts. Moreover, there are a myriad
of factors other than teacher pay which are driving up property taxes
that need to be discussed.
This Speaker's Data Guide - Talking Points, is the third
in a series published by the WEAC Collective Bargaining/Research Division.
The first issue deals with teacher salary erosion, arbitration settlements
and school finance. The second issue deals with state and national economic
trends and child well- being.
The economy is becoming increasingly corporate friendly
and worker unfriendly.
- In 1992, the average CEO made 157 times what
the average factory worker made (NEA Today, November 1995).
- Between 1980 and 1993, CEO pay increased 514
percent and corporate profits 166 percent (NEA Today, November 1995).
- In 1994, the top 25 CEO's made $1.5 billion
in one year. For some, that translates to $10,000 a day, or about
200 times more than a worker making $6.25 per hour (Capital Times, 10/31/95).
- In an October 1995 Time-CNN poll, 44% of respondents
said they "like" labor unions, 68% believe that labor unions
are still needed, and only 10% actually belonged to a union.
- Corporate mergers and acquisitions in 1995
will value over $346 billion - more than the previous record set in
1994. Not only do the mergers represent a consolidation of power (the
antithesis of competition) in key areas like telecommunications and
banking, but the mergers result in massive layoffs. The Chase-Manhattan/Chemical
Bank merger caused 12,000 workers to lose their jobs; the Kimberly-Clark/Scott
Paper merger will cost 57,000 workers their jobs (Capital Times 11/6/95).
- AT&T announced layoffs of 78,000 employees
for 1996 (Capital Times 11/16/95).
- Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) announced
layoffs of 5,000 employees for 1996 (Capital Times 11/16/95).
- IBM and Burlington Northern announced layoff
for 1,200 employees each for 1996 (Capital Times 11/16/95).
- From January to October of 1995, major corporations
announced layoffs totaling 343,000 workers (Capital Times 11/16/95).
- Since March of 1991, 2.5 million workers
have been laid off from corporate employment (Capital Times 11/16/95).
- In 1993, the top 20% of income earners experienced
an average $10,000 increase in their incomes.(Wisconsin State Journal
11/15/95).
- In 1993, the bottom 20% of income earners
experienced an average $1,200 decrease in their incomes. (Wisconsin
State Journal 11/15/95).
- In 1994, average workers experienced the largest
single drop in earned income (2.3%) since 1840. If diminishment in benefits
is included, the rate of decreased earnings was 3%. (New York Times,
6/23/95)
- Despite decreasing purchasing power and benefits
for workers, worker productivity has gone up an average of more
than 2% annually between 1992 and 1995 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11/2/95).
- Households with incomes under $10,000 received
an average of $5,700 from the government in 1991, households with an
average income above $100,000 received $9,300 from the government in
1991 (Capital Times 10/26/95).
- Citizens for Tax Justice completed a study
which shows there will be over $2.5 trillion in lost taxes between
1995 and 1999 due to various corporate writeoffs and subsidies (Wisconsin
State Journal 11/6/95).
These items include:
- accelerated depreciation - $167.2 billion
- breaks for insurance companies and products
- $487.8 billion
- multinational corporation tax breaks -
$87.8 billion
- writeoffs for business meals and entertainment
- $57.1 billion
- oil and gas tax breaks - $18.6 billion
- breaks for agriculture, mining, and timber
- $6.7 billion
- Four million more Americans live in poverty
in 1994 than in 1984. However, the figure would be even higher if the
Clinton administration had not enacted the Earned Income Tax Credit
in 1993. The poverty rate has declined from 15.1% to 14.5% of the population
in 1994 (Wisconsin State Journal, 11/15/95).
- In the 1980's, tax cuts that were supposed
to go towards research, development, and job creation, went instead
primarily into two areas: corporate mergers which resulted in downsizing,
and CEO salary increases. (Laura Flanders, speech WORT, 11/6/95).
- The United States has
the largest income gap in the 17 major industrialized nations in the
world. Earnings of those who just qualify for the top 10% of income
earners are 5.9 times greater compared to incomes of individuals
who just qualify for the bottom 10%. (Capital Times 10/27/95).
- Between 1989 and 1994,
the average income for the bottom 20% of income earners ($7,762)
declined 7.5%, or about $629 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
October, 1995).
- Between 1989 and 1994,
the average income for the middle 20% of income earners ($32,385)
declined 6.3%, or about $2,185 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
October, 1995).
- In 1994, the average
income for the top 5% of income earners ($183,044) increased
11%, or about $7,000 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October,
1995).
- Between 1979 and 1994,
the percent of full-time year-round workers who earned too little to
keep a family of four above the poverty line increased from 12.1%
to 16.2% (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October, 1995).
- Between 1985 and 1995,
4 million more children fell below the poverty line (Wisconsin State
Journal 11/15/95).
- One-quarter of children
in the United States lack health insurance for significant periods during
their first three years of life (Journal of American Medical Association,
11/95)
- Between 1979 and 1994,
the maximum value of AFDC benefits available to a family of four declined
35% in purchasing power. In 1979, full AFDC benefits were able to lift
1/5 children above the poverty line. Today, AFDC is able to lift only
1/7 children above the poverty line. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
October, 1995).
- While the poverty rate
for seniors decreased from 1978 to 1994 from 14% to 11.7%, the poverty
rate for children has increased from 15.9 to 22%. (Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities, October, 1995).
- Children as a group
experience a greater percent of poverty than any other age group. Today,
15,289,000 children live in poverty (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
October, 1995).
- On average, government
social programs are slated for a 17% reduction to balance the budget
by 2002. However, 60 government programs which provide corporate subsidies
will experience less than a 1% decrease in this same time period (Capital
Times 10/31/95).
- Republican proposals
to "balance" the budget include ending $32 billion
over seven years in the Earned Income Tax Credit - tax relief for families
making under $28,000 per year. The same budget proposals include tax
cuts of $245 billion for corporations and the wealthy (Wisconsin
State Journal 11/12/95).
- Changes in the tax
law proposed for 1996 would provide the richest 1% of families with
$19,000 per year in tax breaks. That translates to $21 billion dollars,
more than all families who make less than $50,000 per year get
in tax breaks combined. Sixty-one percent of the population makes less
than $50,000 per year. (Capital Times 10/26/95).
- The poorest 20% of
families will loose an average of $3,200 in income and benefits because
of changes in the Earned Income tax Credit and cuts in other social
programs proposed in the 1996 budget (Capital Times 10/26/95).
- The proposed $37 billion
in tax cuts for the richest 5% is roughly enough money to restore all
the income and health coverage cuts for all families with children in
the United States (Capital Times 10/26/95).
- Reductions in Food
Stamps and Housing Assistance proposed in the Republican Budget for
1996 would place 2.1 million more children below the poverty level (Congressional
Budget Office 11/95).
- Reductions in Food
Stamps and Housing Assistance proposed in Senate legislation supported
by President Clinton would place 1.2 million more children below the
poverty level (Congressional budget Office 11/95).
- Medicaid was established in 1965 to help provide
medical assistance to low income people. Two National Health Interview
Surveys showed that the lowest income group made 20% fewer visits to
the doctor for preventative care before Medicaid than they did after
Medicaid was established. (New York Times 11/9/95).
- Two national surveys, one conducted prior
to the introduction of Food Stamps in 1970, and one conducted in 1977,
showed that the impact of poverty on food consumption was cut in half,
and that hunger and malnutrition were much less frequent after initiation
of the Food Stamp program (New York Times, 11/9/95).
- The Supplemental Security Income and changes
in Social Security were implemented in 1972 to help combat poverty among
senior citizens. Since 1972, poverty rates for senior citizens have
declined from 19% to 12% (New York Times, 11/9/95).
- Since 1975, the amount of women on AFDC has
remained relatively flat - around 12% - evidence that AFDC recipients
are not growing as a percent of the population (New York Times, 11/9/95).
- The birth rate among teenagers fell by
a quarter between 1964 and 1980, the same time when antipoverty
spending was rising fastest. This is evidence that purported links between
welfare spending and teen pregnancy are based more on ideology than
fact (New York Times, 11/9/95).
- Only 6% of AFDC recipients are teens. About
two-thirds of recipients are single white women in their 20's and 30's,
often times recovering from divorce, who are on AFDC about three years
(Laura Flanders, speech WORT, 11/6/95).
- Even if we include Food Stamps, the percent
of the federal budget we spend to support single mothers and children
through AFDC is less than 3% (Laura Flanders, speech WORT, 11/6/95).
- The money spent on the savings & loan
bailout in the 1980's would have run the entire AFDC program for all
fifty states for seven years (Laura Flanders, speech WORT, 11/6/95).
* Except where noted, all information in this section
comes from: Gerald Bracey, "The Fourth Bracey Report on the Condition
of Public Education," PHI DELTA KAPPAN, October, 1994.
- There was no Golden Age of education from
which we have fallen. Public schools today are graduating more students
from different walks of life and sending them on to college than ever
before. Moreover, careful examination of national data shows that scores
on standardized tests are at all time highs despite the vast changes
in the demographic nature of students taking the exams. Likewise, international
comparison in reading and math show that significant numbers of U.S.
students do very well. However, despite the overall good news, there
are real pockets of failure for under-privileged children.
- There were modest declines in SAT scores nationally
from about 1970 into the 1980's. However, research has shown that the
majority of this decline can be attributed to the great increases in
numbers of students taking the exam.
- In the 1990's, SAT scores are increasing,
an under-reported fact.
- The National Assessment of Educational Performance,
considered to be the best measure of national academic performance,
shows essentially stable scores in reading and math from 1970 to 1990.
These results stand in contrast to claims that public schools are declining.
- In 1987, 34% of U.S. high school students
took the SAT.
- In 1995, 41% of U.S. high school students
took the SAT.
- In 1950, 53% of Americans aged 25-29 had earned
a high school diploma.
- In 1993, 86% of American aged 25-29 had earned
a high school diploma.
- More Americans get a college education than
in any other nation on earth.
- In 1941, only 10,654 students took the SAT
exam nationally. Ninety-eight percent were white, 60% were male, and
40% had attended a private school. Of this group, 6.68% scored above
650 on the exam.
- In 1994, about one million students took the
SAT exam nationally. Thirty percent were minority, 52% female, and 31%
had incomes less than $30,000. Of this group, 11% scored above 650 on
the exam, an all time high.
- Because of the stability of its population,
Iowa is considered an optimal state to study long- term testing trends.
In Iowa since 1990, scores on the Iowa Test for Basic Skills are at
record highs for all grades except 8 and 12, where scores are at near-record
highs.
- The National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) is used for international comparisons. If you break the U.S.
population into subgroups, U.S. students scored in three out of the
top six categories in the 1992 mathematics assessment given to 19 industrialized
nations.
- Asian students (U.S.)287
- Taiwan 285
- Korea 283
- Advantaged urban students (U.S.) 283
- White students (U.S.)277
- Hungry 277
- United States students consistently score
at or near the top in international comparisons on reading. U.S. 9-year-olds
finished second in the world among 31 nations on reading, and
14- year-olds 8th out of 31 nations, with their raw scores as close
to first place as the 9-year-olds.
- In the 1994 International Mathematics Olympiad,
the American team outscored 68 other nations and finished first. Each
member of the team got a perfect score on the test, the first time in
history that has happened.
- More evidence is accumulating that low scores
on standardized exams are class linked. For instance, on the 1992 NAEP
mathematics assessment, disadvantaged U.S. urban students scored second
to last. Also, wealthy Blacks outscore poor Asians on the exam.
- Research shows that four variables can predict
89% of the variance in state-level NAEP mathematic scores: number of
parents in the home, level of parental education, type of community,
and state poverty rates for ages 5-17. Note that all of these variables
impacting outcome are social factors which cannot be controlled
by the schools.
- It is often said that the U.S. spends more
on education than other nations. This is true only if you include higher
education, and we have the best system of higher education in the world.
However, if you examine only K-12 spending, the U.S. ranks 9th out of
19 industrialized nations.
- Teacher pay in the U.S. ranks 7th out of 13
developed nations.
- Spending is a complex issue. Money to schools
is increasing, however the number of social services is much greater
in U.S. than in other countries. For instance, in 1989-1990, one piece
of federal transportation legislation for special education appropriated
$8 billion.
- Special education students enrollments have
increased 39% from 1976 to 1990.
- A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute
shows that roughly 40% of spending increases from 1967 to 1991 went
into special education and not regular classrooms (Education Week 11/22/95).
- Using a measure of inflation that is more
sensitive to school costs than the Consumer Price Index, the same report
shows that between 1967 and 1991, real spending on "regular"
classroom education grew by only 1% annually (Education Week 11/22/95).
- In 1993, the Bush administration authorized
a national study on public schools to be conducted by the Sandia National
Laboratories. Known as the Sandia Report, the document was suppressed
by the administration because it did not support their agenda of vouchers
and privatization for schooling. The report showed the public school
system to be working quite well. Project Censored listed this article
as the third most important story suppressed by the press in 1993.
- In The Manufactured Crisis (Biddle,1995),
a book which investigates charges of public school failure, the authors
state: "many of the myths [of failure] seem also to have been told
by powerful people who - despite their protestations - were pursuing
a political agenda designed to weaken the nation's public schools, redistribute
support for those schools so that privileged students are favored over
needy, or even abolish those schools altogether. To this end they have
been prepared to tell lies, suppress evidence, scapegoat educators,
and sow endless confusion. We consider this conduct particularly despicable"
(p. xii).
Evidence that public schools work - Wisconsin
- In Wisconsin, SAT scores have gone up from
1980-1992. Verbal scores have increased from 472 to 481. Math scores
have increased from 533 to 548 in that time period.
- The number of student's taking the ACT and
going on to college increased significantly from 1980-1992. Despite
this increase in numbers taking the exam, scores have not decreased.
Wisconsin ranked number one nationally on ACT scores in 1994.
- Wisconsin public schools outscore both religious and independent
private schools in the state on SAT exams.
- About 57% of Wisconsin students took the ACT
exam in the 1993-1994 school year.
- In 1992, Wisconsin placed fourth in the nation
on the 4th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
mathematics test. Wisconsin students scored in the top 20% on every
category in the exam.
- In 1992, Wisconsin placed sixth in the nation
on the 8th grade NAEP mathematics exam.
- In 1994, Wisconsin placed third in the
nation on the NAEP 4th grade reading test with an average proficiency
score of 225, the same as in 1992.
- While the above test scores are very positive,
they are average scores which can mask pockets of concern. Sixty-four
percent of Black students, for instance, scored below Basic Proficiency
levels on the 4th grade reading exam.
- Dropout rates are currently at a ten year
low in Wisconisin. Dropout rates have declined every year from 1992-1995.
Last year, 2.63% of the student population dropped out of school.
- 71% of Wisconsin students go on to some form
of post-secondary education.
- In summation, far from a failing system, Wisconsin
public schools are keeping more students in school, graduating more
students, and sending more students on to college than ever before.
Moreover, state to state comparisons of standardized exams consistently
show Wisconsin to be one of the top five performing states.
- While residents of Milwaukee have real concerns
about wanting to improve the Milwaukee Public School System, overall,
Wisconsinites rate their schools and teachers highly.
- In Milwaukee, 95% of residents strongly agree,
and 98% agree overall, that "strong and successful public schools
are important for the well being of the city" (12/95).
- In a statewide head-to-head comparison asking
respondents to choose between "strengthening the public schools,
or providing more tax money to private schools to educate our children,"
80% of respondents wanted to strengthen public schools (3/95).
- In a statewide survey which asked if it was
"important for the well-being of our country to have a strong successful
public school system," 98% of respondents answered in the affirmative
(1/94).
- In a statewide survey, 63% of respondents
graded their local school with an A or B for preparing students for
college (3/95).
- In a statewide survey, respondents ranked
public school teachers second only to medical doctors in gauging their
worth to society. There were seventeen professions tested. The clergy,
farmers, and judges ranked three, four and five; car salespeople ranked
last (1/94).
- We must be careful to differentiate general
opinion on the state of education in the U.S., which is more susceptible
to negative media coverage experienced by public schooling, from
specific opinion about local schools and teachers. Despite the media
barrage, public opinion is still very supportive of local schools,
very supportive of public school teachers, and overwhelming in the belief
that strong public schools are essential to the well-being of this nation.
- Part of the media barrage on public education
in Wisconsin has included accusations that teachers, and public sector
employees in general, are overpaid. This is false.
- Dale Belman, a labor economist at UWM, conducted
a major study in 1993 and found "no evidence that government workers
in Wisconsin benefitted from unusually generous raises over the last
decade" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 3/36/93).
- Many studies which purport to show higher
levels of public sector pay fail to account for significant differences
in the education level of employees in the two sectors. In the public
sector, 40% of employees have college degrees compared to only 21% in
the private sector.
- The percent of professional employees employed
by states (30%) and locals (40%) is greater than the percent (10%) employed
in the private sector. Further, a report by the Economic Policy Institute
found, on average, no difference in pay between state and private sector
workers. They did, however, find that local employees were paid about
4%-5% less than comparable private sector workers.
- In Wisconsin, virtually all teachers have
college degrees, and over half have Master's degrees or more. An independent
analysis by Arthur Young & Co. (1988), showed that teachers were
under-compensated compared to private sector employees with comparable
education and years of experience. The average teacher earned $12.13
per hour, lower than comparable private sector employees who earned
from to $12.93 to $16.00 per hour.
- Further analysis shows that between 1970 and
1993, teachers lost purchasing power if rates of salary increases
are compared to increases in the cost of living (CPI-U). Statewide,
teacher salaries have about 90%-93% of the purchasing power they did
back in 1970.
- This downward trend is intensifying under
the current state imposed salary and revenue caps.
- Examination of median incomes also show Wisconsin
teachers to be under-compensated. The median income in Wisconsin is
4.8% above the national average, teacher salaries in Wisconsin are only
1.9% above the national average.
- In 1990, salaries of educational professionals
were only about 63% of those for a group of occupations with similar
educational requirements (US Office of Ed Research and Improvement).
- Analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
shows that, even if we include benefits as a percent of total salary,
teachers are under compensated. Private sector professional workers
receive, on average, 26.8% of their salary in benefits, teachers receive
25.4% (1993-1994).
Average Annual Earnings
by Educational Attainment 1990*
|
Education level
|
United States
|
Wisconsin
|
Wisconsin Earnings as a % of National
|
Wisconsin Teachers Earnings
|
Wis. Teacher earnings as % of Wis. avg. earnings
|
|
High School graduate
|
$23,549
|
$22,891
|
97.2%
|
$19,622 (BA min)
|
85.7%
|
|
Bachelor's degree
|
$40,149
|
$35,718
|
89%
|
$29,809 (BA max)
|
83.4%
|
|
Master's degree
|
$48,142
|
$41,705
|
86.6%
|
$34,864 (MA max)
|
83.6%
|
|
Doctorate degree
|
$58,519
|
$50,519
|
86.3%
|
$37,713 (Schedule max)
|
74.6%
|
|
Professional school degree
|
$82,995
|
$74,237
|
89.4%
|
$37,713 (Schedule max)
|
50.8%
|
*Source: Education in the U.S., U.S. Bureau of the Census
1990; WEAC School Stats.
The above data compares national average annual earnings by
educational attainment to Wisconsin levels, and then compares Wisconsin
teacher pay to Wisconsin average annual earnings. Wisconsin teachers
earn less than state average incomes for every level of education.If
we note the increased productivity documented above - more graduates going
on to college and higher test scores - and couple that with the fact that
teachers are not being compensated for this increased productivity, we
can see teachers are doing more for less money than at any time in
the last 25 years. To sum, charges that Wisconsin teachers are over-compensated
are factually incorrect. Independent studies, comparisons of average teacher
salaries to state average salaries, comparisons of median income between
teachers and the private sector, and comparison of benefits between teachers
and the private sector, all show teachers to be under-compensated.
- Factors other than teacher salaries are
driving up property taxes. First,
as noted, other school costs are increasing like insurance costs, administrative
costs, and especially costs for special education. Spending on "regular"
classroom education has grown only about 1% annually. Teacher salaries
are not the fastest rising part of school expenses, and pay for teachers
makes up less than half of all school expenditures in Wisconsin (Economic
Policy Institute, 1995; Legislative Fiscal Bureau, 1996).
- Second, as the federal and state governments
cut money for local government, locals must increase property taxes
to maintain services.
- Third, since 1970, the percent of all property
taxes paid by the manufacturing sector in Wisconsin has declined
from 17.7% to 5.6%. In the same time period, the percent of all property
taxes paid for by average homeowners has increased from 51% to
62% (Legislative Fiscal Bureau, 1995).
- Fourth, annual increases in home valuations
also drive up local property taxes.
- Fifth, as was documented earlier, taxes on
average workers are going up and up at the state, federal, and local
levels. Meanwhile, taxes on corporations and the wealthy are going down.
This unjust system of taxation is causing economic pressure on families.
- Sixth, wages are going down. The average worker
has 17% less purchasing power today than they did in 1979. Declining
wages for, and increasing taxes on, average workers have created an
economic pressure cooker where people are looking for something to blame
for their frustrations.
- Seventh, 40 states rely less on local property
taxes to pay for education than Wisconsin; only nine states rely more
than Wisconsin on local property taxes. About 57.5% of school costs
come from local property taxes in Wisconsin compared to 46.7% nationally.
(NEA Report on Educational Statistics, 1994-95).
- Eighth, only four states receive less federal
aid for education than Wisconsin. Wisconsin receives 4.5% of its total
education costs from the federal government, compared to the national
average of 7.2% (NEA Report on Educational Statistics, 1994-95).
This complex scenario is why average homeowners are
economically frustrated and angry at property tax rates. We must educate
people about the real reasons why property taxes are high and why they
are economically frustrated. Teacher salaries are not to blame for an
over- reliance on property taxes in Wisconsin to pay for schooling, for
unjust systems of taxation impacting workers, or for declining wages.
